============================== IGDA Newsletter - October 2002 ============================== ============================= 0.0 A Word From Graeme Devine 1 IGDA News 1.1 Volunteers Needed for Business Best Practice Roundtables at GDC 1.2 IGDA Brief Filed Against St. Louis Video Game Ordinance 1.3 IGDA Growing in Tokyo 1.4 Charne on Getting Paid 1.5 Chapter Updates & News 2 From the Wire - GDC 2003 Registration Launches - SIGGRAPH 2003 Call for Participation - Call for Proposals: AI Game Programming Wisdom 2 - New Game Career Book - Reprieve for Greek Gamers - Gaming our Way to a Better Future - The Future of Game Development - UK Group "Fair Play" Organizing Game Boycott to Protest Pricing - ESA Annual Charity Event for Kids - Weapons of Mass Distraction - Retailers Reject New XXX Video Game - Game Addictions Getting Attention - Vice, Violence and Games 3 Events, Benefits & Services Update 3.1 Updated Member Benefits 3.2 Upcoming Events 4 Logistical Bits 4.1 Thanks to our Sponsors and Partners! 4.2 IGDA Registration 4.3 Contact Information ======================================== ============================= 0.0 A Word From Graeme Devine ============================= Dear IGDA Members and friends, Lots of good stuff going on this month IGDA-wise! For starters, I was out at the University of Utah meeting with the student chapter folks there. The people I met and talked to out there will be the lifeblood of the game industry in just a few years, and it was really exciting to see and hear their points of view. The IGDA filed a brief against the St. Louis video game ordinance, the text of which is available via link below. I strongly recommend reading this and being aware of this action, it's important that you know how we represent you, our members. Finally, check out those Japanese chapter links! Wow! Graeme Devine Chairperson, IGDA =========== 1 IGDA News =========== 1.1 Volunteers Needed for Business Best Practice Roundtables at GDC ------------------------------------------------------------------- The newly formed Business Committee of the IGDA is hosting a series of "best practice" roundtables at the 2003 Game Developers Conference. Topics include: Human Resources, Resource Management/Scheduling, Promotion/Marketing, QA/Testing and Finance. The IGDA is seeking motivated volunteers, with proven expertise, to either moderate or take notes at these roundtables. http://www.igda.org/Committees/business/biz_roundtables.htm 1.2 IGDA Brief Filed Against St. Louis Video Game Ordinance ----------------------------------------------------------- The IGDA has filed an amicus brief in support of the ESA's appeal against the St. Louis ordinance to legislate video game sales. The brief can be downloaded in pdf format. The brief argues that games are indeed an expressive medium capable of conveying ideas. The Free Expression Policy Project filed a brief as well, with scholars arguing against the misconceptions over the effect of violent media. http://www.igda.org/Committees/IGDA_StLouis_Brief_20020925.pdf http://www.fepproject.org/courtbriefs/stlouis.html 1.3 IGDA Growing in Tokyo ------------------------- The IGDA's Tokyo chapter has been growing steadily over the past few months. In large part, this has been due to the passion and dedication of Kiyoshi Shin, an industry veteran and book author. Last month, the Tokyo chapter held a meeting and party in conjunction with the Tokyo Game Show. They welcomed IGDA board member Rob Huebner and other guest speakers (Seamus Blackley for one) who came to share their knowledge with Japanese developers. The Xbox sponsored chapter party was good fun, made even more interesting with the introduction of the male synchronized swimmers. The following reports are currently Japanese only, but are full a great pics: http://www.igda.jp/seminar/3rdmeeting_party.htm http://www.igda.jp/seminar/3rdmeeting.htm 1.4 Charne on Getting Paid -------------------------- Jim Charne has updated his "Famous Last Words" column with comments on the timing of royalty payments and the need to factor this into cash flow. http://www.igda.org/Services/Legal/lastwords/lastwords.htm 1.5 Chapter Updates & News -------------------------- Many IGDA chapters held meetings recently, and several provided great summary reports: - Austin had another great meeting and played games: http://www.austingamedevelopers.org/2002-9-17/index.html - Chicago heard from Midway Games: http://www.igda.org/Chapters/chicago/chicago_summary_Sep02.htm - Detroit held their first meeting: http://www.igda.org/Chapters/detroit/Oct02/report.htm - The Lyon (France) Chapter is having their first meeting: http://www.igda.org/Chapters/lyon.htm - A Midlands UK chapter is also prepping for their first: http://www.igda.org/Chapters/midlands.htm - Montreal enjoyed socializing: http://www.igda.org/montreal/reports/summary_Oct02.htm - The North Carolina Triangle Chapter will have their first meeting end of October: http://www.igda.org/nctriangle/ - The North West UK Chapter had a great turnout in Liverpool: http://www.igda.org/Chapters/northwestuk.htm - Orange Country had a successful first gathering: http://www.igda.org/Chapters/orangecounty/oc_summary_Oct02.htm - Paris discusses survival in France: http://igda.paris.free.fr/paris/chapter_report_sep02.htm - Toronto hooked up for drinks: http://www.igda.org/Chapters/toronto/toronto_summary_Oct3_2002.htm - A new chapter has started in Vancouver: http://www.igda.org/Chapters/vancouver.htm Many chapters (San Jose, Austin, Miami, Atlanta, Midlands UK, Boston and others) will meet in coming weeks. Check the Chapter Calendar for dates and details: http://www.igda.org/Chapters/chapters_calendar.htm =============== 2 From the Wire =============== GDC 2003 Registration Launches http://www.igda.org/About/Press/news_item.php?nid=451 SIGGRAPH 2003 Call for Participation http://www.igda.org/About/Press/news_item.php?nid=437 Call for Proposals: AI Game Programming Wisdom 2 http://www.igda.org/About/Press/news_item.php?nid=438 New Game Career Book http://www.igda.org/About/Press/news_item.php?nid=440 Reprieve for Greek Gamers http://www.igda.org/About/Press/news_item.php?nid=441 Gaming our Way to a Better Future http://www.igda.org/About/Press/news_item.php?nid=442 The Future of Game Development http://www.igda.org/About/Press/news_item.php?nid=444 UK Group "Fair Play" Organizing Game Boycott to Protest Pricing http://www.igda.org/About/Press/news_item.php?nid=445 ESA Annual Charity Event for Kids http://www.igda.org/About/Press/news_item.php?nid=446 Weapons of Mass Distraction http://www.igda.org/About/Press/news_item.php?nid=448 Retailers Reject New XXX Video Game http://www.igda.org/About/Press/news_item.php?nid=449 Game Addictions Getting Attention http://www.igda.org/About/Press/news_item.php?nid=450 Vice, Violence and Games http://www.igda.org/About/Press/news_item.php?nid=452 ==================================== 3 Events, Benefits & Services Update ==================================== 3.1 GDC Member Discount ----------------------- All IGDA members enjoy a $50 discount on GDC registration. The Gama Network recently announced the opening of registration for the Game Developers Conference, which will be held in San Jose, CA from March 4-8, 2003. The preliminary conference schedule is available, and conference classes will continue to be added over the coming months. Early registration prices are currently in effect. Discounted prices end on February 5th. http://www.gdconf.com/ 3.2 Upcoming Events ------------------- Mobile Entertainment & Gaming Expo http://www.megexpo.com/ 21-24 October, Hollywood, CA Mobile Games Convention http://www.ef-telecoms.co.uk/mgames/igda 21-23 October, Barcelona, Spain Challenge of Computer Games http://free.art.pl/ktltf/Gry-info.html 25-27 October, Lodz, Poland IndieGamesCon http://www.indiegamescon.com/ 1-3 November, Eugene, Oregon Dust or Magic http://www.childrenssoftware.com/dustormagic 3-5 November, Lambertville, NJ Opening Pandora's Toolbox http://www.nestafuturelab.org/events/events_rev02.htm 6-7 November, Bradford, UK International Contents Trade Show http://www.diconexpo.com/ 6-8 November, Seoul, Korea NASAGA Annual Conference http://www.nasaga.org/conference2002.htm 6-9 November, San Diego, CA Game On Learning Conference http://www.nms.ac.uk/gameon/events.html 20-21 November, Edinburgh, Scotland The Dynamics of Games & Mobile Games http://www.ibctelecoms.com/games?src=igda 26-27 November, London, UK GAME-ON http://biomath.rug.ac.be/%7Escs/conf/gameon2002/index.html 29-30 November, London, UK ================= 4 Logistical Bits ================= 4.1 Thanks to our Sponsors and Partners! ---------------------------------------- The IGDA extends its sincerest thanks to all our sponsors and partners! Without their support, and the continued backing from the developer community, the IGDA simply would not survive - let alone thrive. Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP Alias|Wavefront Gamasutra.com Gama Network GameDev.Net Game Developer magazine Game Developers Conference GIGnews.com Intrinsic Graphics Jostick101.org Mary-Margaret.com Microsoft Research Get more info online: http://www.igda.org/About/Sponsors/sponsors.htm http://www.igda.org/About/Alliances/alliances.htm 4.2 IGDA Registration --------------------- Your support is critical to the success of the IGDA, and our industry. Our membership is made up of programmers, designers, artists, producers and many other development professionals who see the importance of working together to advance games and game development as a craft. There are dozens of reasons to join the IGDA, ranging from personal career advancement to more lofty industry-wide goals. What are you waiting for? Join today! http://www.igda.org/join Or refer a friend to win prizes: http://www.igda.org/Membership/Referrals/referrals.htm 4.3 Contact Information ----------------------- Contact our membership coordinator if you have questions, comments or input. Liz Wakefield IGDA membership coordinator liz@igda.org